Unspoken
by Bambi
Summary: Ino has gone missing and Shika goes to look for her. Once he finds her, will actions be able to speak louder than words? (InoShikamaru)


Title: Unspoken  
  
Pairing: Ino/Shika  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. Blah, Blah. Not mine. Moving on.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Oi, Ino!" Shikamaru drawled impatiently, as he strolled toward the hunched form of his somber teammate. "Where the hell have you been all day? I've been looking for you ever since the preliminary matches ended..."  
  
Ino, who had been lost in her thoughts just moments ago, jumped slightly at the familiar lazy drawl, and reluctantly glanced in the direction of her approaching teammate. As expected, his face beheld his usual impassive and bored expression, and his shoulders were hunched forward slightly, giving off the impression that Shikamaru couldn't be bothered with trivial things such as traipsing around in the middle of the night to look for his female counterpart. His hands were characteristically shoved deep into his pockets, and his eyebrows twitched in annoyance when Ino failed to respond to his simple question.  
  
Seeing that Shikamaru was expecting some sort of answer from her, Ino let out an exasperated sigh, and pulled her knees closer to her chest. However, rather than grace him with an answer, she settled on glaring at him instead. If she didn't respond, Shikamaru would eventually get bored and decide that she was too "troublesome" to deal with and leave. However, he seemed to be particularly determined today, since her fierce glare didn't seem to be having the desired effect on him, which suffice to say, was unusual. This of course could only mean that he needed some sort of justification for taking the time to look for her, but being as stubborn as she was, she wasn't going to give it to him...  
  
"I don't see how that's any of your business, baka!" Ino spat, as Shikamaru came to stand beside her.  
  
Shikamaru snorted in response and bent down to take a seat beside Ino, but seemed to think better of it, and settled for balancing on his haunches instead. He propped his forearms against his thighs and tilted his head toward the sky, taking a moment to admire its infinite beauty, before finally asking, "How long have you been crying?"  
  
Ino blinked in surprise and quickly repressed the urge to swipe at her face to see if her cheeks were still damp from the tears she had shed earlier, and opted to focus on her chipped fingernails instead. They really did need a good manicure...  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about!" she muttered defensively.  
  
Risking a glance at Shikamaru from the corner of her eye, she gasped in surprise when she found that his face was now several inches from hers. His dark eyes peered intensely into her cerulean ones, and for the first time Ino realized that his eyes were in fact brown, not black. She allowed her gaze to quickly travel down the length of his face, taking in the firm, angular jaw, the faint stubble above his upper lip and over his chin, before finally settling on his mouth, which was currently set into a deep frown. His lips were too thin and slightly chapped, and she vaguely wondered whether or not he used lip balm...  
  
"Baka!" Shikamaru growled, causing Ino to abruptly tear her lingering gaze away from his lips. "You're a terrible liar."  
  
Ino opened her mouth to voice some sort of retort, but was cut off before the words could so much as escape past her lips.  
  
"And what the hell were you staring at?" Shikamaru demanded, eyeing Ino suspiciously. "Do I have something on my face?"  
  
Ino smiled softly as she watched Shikamaru swipe his mouth with the back of his hand, and wondered why she had never noticed how attractive he was--- not that she would ever admit it, of course. There was nothing particularly striking about his appearance, at least in comparison to someone like Sasuke with his smooth, porcelain skin, and haunting, deep set black eyes. But Shikamaru's sharp, distinct features and dark complexion gave him a rather rugged appearance, which as much as it pained her to admit even to herself, at times made him look quite sexy. Too bad he was devoid of anything even remotely resembling a personality.  
  
"You're doing it again..." Shikamaru drawled impatiently.  
  
"Gomen, gomen!" Ino laughed uncomfortably, hoping that he wouldn't notice the faint blush that colored her cheeks.  
  
"Women..." he mumbled irritably, giving her one last inquiring look before finally taking a seat in the cool grass. "So are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or are you just going to continue to brush me off?"  
  
Ino sighed, and fingered the lock of honey-gold hair that framed her face. "Just forget it. You wouldn't understand."  
  
Shikamaru smirked softly. "You're probably right. Women make everything too complicated."  
  
Ino rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him in the shoulder.  
  
"Is it because you got knocked out during the Chuunin exam?"  
  
"No." Ino replied quietly.  
  
"Then what?"  
  
Ino ignored his question and abandoned the lock of hair she had been playing with, and reached up to fiddle with the small bun that was neatly perched atop her head. She frowned.  
  
"Your hair?"  
  
"What?" Ino asked sharply.  
  
"You're upset about your hair?" Shikamaru asked, surprise evident in his voice. "Why?"  
  
"It's too short..." she muttered bitterly.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So?! What do you mean, SO?!" Ino blurted exasperatedly. "It took me four years to grow it out--- FOUR YEARS! And now it's just... it's just... gone..." Ino trailed off, feeling the tears begin to well up in the corners of her eyes.  
  
Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head, trying to make sense of what she had just said, but failed to see the logic behind her words. What did it matter if her hair was short? It was just hair. Ino's hair could be long or short, straight or curly, blonde, black, or blue and it wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference. Ino was still Ino.  
  
"Let me see it."  
  
"What? No! Absolutely not!" Ino protested, trying to blink away the tears that had suddenly clouded her vision.  
  
Shikamaru, mind made up, ignored her feeble protests, and quickly reached over to pluck the ribbon from her hair. He watched as the soft amber waves tumbled down from their binding to fall neatly just below her chin. He had to admit that Ino did look quite different with short hair, but it suited her none the less. It complimented her delicate features, accentuating the soft curve of her jaw and full, pouting lips, which at the moment were trembling with suppressed emotion. He gazed up into her cerulean eyes, and wasn't surprised to see that she was crying. She looked beautiful.  
  
"Baka," he sighed, bringing a hand up to brush against her moist cheek. He then slipped his hand behind her head, letting his fingers wind into the smooth waves of honey and ripened wheat, and gently coaxed her forward, until her forehead was comfortably nestled in the crook of his neck. He proceeded to wrap his arms around her shaking form, and pulled her into a gentle embrace, surprised at how comfy it felt to hold her so close.  
  
He was glad he had found her.  
  
~The End  
  
Author's note: How do I feel about this fic? To tell you guys the truth, I'm not entirely sure. It's 2:00 in the morning right now and I'm a bit tired and disoriented, so I guess I'll just post this fic and hope for the best ^_^ Please, no complaints about the length! It's a one-shot fic that I only intended to be a couple pages long. Anyway, I was thinking for my next fic I could write a Kiba/Hinata one. Let me know what you guys think! Many thanks! 


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